Next Gen
by Vic Rodriguez
Summary: Years after the final adventures for Gen-13 and DV8, I/O reopens it's doorsand begins taking their decendents for an all new project genises. How I think Gen-13 should be relaunched. Please R


1 Next Gen. By. Vic Rodriguez  
  
(Note-Gen 13, DV8 and all related characters are property of DC/Wildstorm, the actual team of Next Gen and Dominus belong to me. With the news of a re-launched Gen 13, it should start anew and this is how I would re-launch the book. A back to basics feel but with a new team. I don't know how Warren plans to end his run so people will be alive who may end up dead by issue 77.)  
  
Many years ago I.O., or International Operations, stole children, using them for their own gain. More specifically, children of the members of the legendary "Team 7", an I.O. supported Gen-active special ops unit. They exposed them to the Gen-factor, hoping to catch more lightning in the bottle. 11 children, all affected, granted new and amazing powers, something that is not easily dealt with. Rogue I.O. agent John Lynch took five children back, Bobby "Burnout" Lane, Caitlin Fairchild, "Grunge", Roxy "Freefall" Spaulding, and Sarah Rainmaker. Soon they were on the run, they became known as Gen 13. The other children, Rachel "Sublime" Goldman, Gem "Copycat" Antonelli, Leon "Frostbite" Carver, Hector "Powerhaus" Morales, Michael "Evo" Heller and Jocelyn "Freestyle" Davis became DV8, a counter group to Gen 13, originally intended to hunt them down and ultimately bring them back to I.O.  
  
I.O. Failed, losing both their groups and lastly governmental support. I.O was eventually shut down, but as we all know.nothing lasts forever. Now, in the present day, long after Gen 13 has had their final adventure together, I.O. has been reopened. Sold by the Government to the highest bidder, a man known only as Dominus. Who is he and where his money came from, they didn't know.or even cared. They wanted I.O. back in some way, so they sold it with one provision: Create new Gen- actives for them to mine. For their own use, but this man has his own plan in mind.  
  
Dominus is a Meta-type himself. Not unlike a Gen-Active, he has his own special abilities. Abilities he has stolen over countless of years. He opens up his new acquisition in Seattle, his home, and his base of operations.  
  
"We found the facility to be to our liking Mr. Dominus." Began the holographic projection of an Army General. ".Everything seems to be in order for you to begin."  
  
"The deal was no interference from you. I trust the government can stick to it." Dominus said with a smile. A door nearby slides open and a teenage boy walks in, standing beside Dominus. "Who is that?" Asked the projection.  
  
"I need to make my own help in order to catch the Gen-actives don't I?"  
  
"Very well, she's all yours. You'll be hearing from us." The projection fizzles out and Dominus turns to a computer consol. "I have prepared who I want." On screen appear the pictures of many kids, all in their teens.  
  
"Why so young??"  
  
"They are just ripe to be exposed.easier to control as well. Get the others ready, I want this done by nightfall." The kid nodded and left the room as Dominus starred into the screen, eyeing several of the children. I/O was back on track it would seem, and if former escapee Roxy Spaulding knew of this, she would not be smiling the way she is now.  
  
It was a beautiful day in La Jolla California as Roxy prepared to lock up her music store, "Freefall Records". Why not be happy, it was another good day over all, she loved being in California. When Gen- 13 parted ways, she decided to stay put in La Jolla. Why give up the nice house? She was never one to pass up nice living. She walked to her car and thought of her ex-team mates, Caitlin, Bobby, Grunge and Sarah. It's been years. She thought. They all promised to keep in touch, like a bunch of kids at graduation; they swore to remain friends forever. Like most things, that was not the case. Roxy stayed in La Jolla, managed to start her own record store and is well off. Grunge went to L.A. but she has heard neither hide nor hair from her former crush. Typical.  
  
Sarah returned home, Bobby of course tried to start a music career.last she heard he has his own Indy record label. As for Caitlin.her own half sister and they haven't spoken much. Roxy wonders why but then doesn't, she has something more important on her mind. Her own daughter, Yvette. All day she had tried to reach her and no answer. After she entered her car she flipped open her cell phone and dialed her home number. No answer. Where is she? Maybe I should page her.but she never answers a page from me anyway. Roxy eventually raced for home, she was worried.but it was still early yet. Yvette Thompson however found herself being dragged away from a tube.  
  
Her short black hair was wet from sweat, her body cold, she was naked but felt too weak to do anything about it. She felt different.her vision was blurred but was slowly clearing itself as she was dragged to a cell of some sort and simply thrown in along with some clothes.  
  
"Here." Said one of the guards coldly. Blindly she reached for the clothes, putting a shirt over her head. She rubbed her eyes and her vision was becoming clear, she heard a door slide close. Where am I.?  
  
"Hey." Yvette looked to the sound of the voice, she was even more confused. "H.Hello?"  
  
"Don't worry, it will clear up soon. At least mine did,"  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"Your vision.hard to see right?"  
  
"Very." She blinked some more and she began to make out silhouettes. Next to her were bars of some sort, behind them was a figure. Her vision cleared some more and there was a boy, couldn't be any younger than she was. Short blond hair fell over his face, he looked as weak as she felt. "God.every thing hurts.what's happening to us?" She asked in a voice much like a weak whisper.  
  
"I'm as confused as you are. Can't say I'm fond of being abducted." Yvette smiled as she propped herself onto the wall, she let out a heavy breath. "What's your name?" she asked.  
  
"Tim. You?"  
  
"Yvette."  
  
"You scared?"  
  
"Very."  
  
"Glad I'm not alone." Tim rubbed his head as Dominus watched his from a monitor. He leaned back on his chair, thinking to himself. "How many in total?"  
  
"Seven Sir."  
  
"Good, lets see who manifests first. I want you to make preparations for one more capture." Dominus clicks on the screen and a picture of a boy comes onto the screen. Black hair, small chin goatee, it was a school photo. "Felix Rivera."  
  
"Why him? He's not related to any of the previous Gen Actives."  
  
"Exactly. He's a Meta to be exact, a very special one at that. Don't question, just get it done." Dominus called up the security videos again, paying close attention to his captives. What he didn't know was that he was being watched himself. Rachel Goldman found her self enough distance away not to be detected. She had heard rumblings that I/O was back but she had to see it for herself. She was getting hit with a sense of Deja vu, those years past when she was exposed to the Gen-Factor and given the code name Sublime. It's a similar predicament that John Lynch himself faced, break the kids out. At least a few, no one deserves this.  
  
She zoomed in her goggles for a closer look at the security cams that Dominus was looking at. "Shit." She said to herself when she realized who one of the kids was. Her own nephew.she knew now she had to act, and act quickly. She then altered her density and phased through the wall. Yvette however grew tired of waiting, and her fear was no longer becoming an issue. She stood up, slowly at first trying to get her balance.  
  
"What are you doing?" Tim Asked.  
  
"Something." She walked to the door, pressing her ear against it. She's not even sure what she's looking for, but she was tired of doing nothing. "God I feel so strange." Tim let out weakly, prompting Yvette to look in his direction. "Me too.I think they infected us with something."  
  
"I feel.I feel really.wet."  
  
"Wet??" Yvette asked.  
  
"Damp, I don't know. Is it hot in here.I just don't." Tim found himself becoming transparent in a way.  
  
"T.Tim.what's happening to you?!" Yvette was freaking out; the prospect was there that this could very well happen to her. What if they had infected her with something? Suddenly Sublime phases into the room, to everyone's surprise including Dominus. "What? Get someone down there!" He yelled. Sublime looked over Tim then back at Yvette. "It's started." She proclaimed.  
  
"What? What's started? What's going on?!" Yvette asked hysterically.  
  
"He's beginning to manifest, can't explain now. Tim, Tim listen to me."  
  
"...Aunt Rachel.?"  
  
"Listen to me. You need to concentrate all right? On your true form, just think about that real hard." Tim nodded and closed his eyes; soon he was becoming solid looking again.  
  
"Oh my god, it worked." Yvette let out softly.  
  
"Come on, I'm getting you out of here." Sublime said as she began to alter her density to diamond hard skin. She punched the door off and motioned for Tim to come. "God this is so unreal." He said.  
  
"This is more real than you'd like" Sublime replied. "Come on."  
  
"Hey, what about Yvette? You can't leave her here. Or the other ones in this cell block!"  
  
"Tim I don't have enough time, I'm gonna have to come back for them later!"  
  
"No, we can't leave them!" Tim was steadfast on his stance, he wasn't about to take "no" for an answer, not today. Rachel sighed and knocked down Yvette's door startling her and then moving down to the other two cells. Yvette walked out, she was scared as hell. "God Tim, what happened to you?"  
  
"I.I don't know.it was like I was becoming.water."  
  
"Water? No wa-"  
  
"Ok, lets move." Sublime interrupted, she was being flanked by two other kids. A girl, about Yvette's age but she was taller and with black hair she was walking slow, holding her stomach, and a black boy, muscular, with cornrows.  
  
"So who are you guys?" Yvette asked.  
  
"I'm Benny.this is Lisa."  
  
"What's wrong with her?"  
  
"I don't know-"  
  
"We don't have time for this, we need to move now!" Sublime bellowed out, getting the kids attention. They all began to leave when a few of the new I/0 troops confronted them, they weren't carrying weapons.  
  
"Nobody move!"  
  
"You're pretty confident for a dead man with no gun!" Sublime growled.  
  
"We don't need any." His hand began to glow.  
  
"Y.you're Gen-Active?"  
  
"Better." They began to approach and sublime stood her ground when suddenly Lisa exploded!  
  
"OH MY GOD!" Yvette yelled.  
  
"Oh god, help me.I'm on fire!" The sheer amount of fire and intense heat had startled everyone, including the soldiers. It was all Sublime needed as she quickly attacked with her trusty three-piece staff, taking them all out rather quickly.  
  
"Do something Tim, you're the leaky faucet!" Yvette yelled tugging at him.  
  
"What? I cant-"  
  
"Relax she's not on fire." Sublime quickly said coming between them.  
  
"Lady are you blind, look at her she's-"  
  
"She's right.I.I don't feel anything.?" Lisa said, she was still on her knees, body a flame. "What's going on??"  
  
"Its simply your Gen-active power, You're just gonna have to think hard about not being on fire. Dumb as it sounds, just trust me." Within minutes of closing her eyes the fire begins to die out, unfortunately for Lisa her clothes have burned off. "Oh shit." She exclaims before hurriedly trying to cover herself up.  
  
"Tim, get her that blanket in the cell." Sublime orders. Tim nods and dashes in quickly returning with the quilt, trying not to stare too hard.  
  
"Hold it, how do you know all this stuff?" Yvette asks with an air of impatience.  
  
" I can explain later but first we need to get out of here!"  
  
"No I think we deserve an explanation!"  
  
Sublime sigh's, this isn't going well. "Look." She began. "I can sit here and tell you and we end up being captured or killed, or I can get you out of here in one piece. SO which is it?" She looked over the four kids and no one said a word. "Good, now lets hurry." As they rushed out Dominus viewed them from his security camera. "Where are the guards?" He demanded of the boy standing next to him.  
  
"They won't get past the main ones sir, trust me." The boy said with fear in his voice. Dominus simply scoffed and sat back down. Meanwhile, Sublime, Yvette, Tim, Lisa and Benny made their way down a corridor. Sublime led the way, checking ahead for more guards. Powers manifesting or not, these kids were not ready for a fight. "We're almost there." Sublime whispered and the others nodded. They had reached the main hall unscathed; a fact that worried the battle tested Sublime. Then suddenly, guards swooped down upon the five, guards with powers of their own. Quickly one shocked sublime with a massive electrical charge from his own hands, sending her to the floor. She was still conscious.barely. The kids soon found themselves surrounded.  
  
"Let's get back to your cages kiddies." One guard retorted.  
  
"Give me a break you don't look a day older than me!" Yvette yelled.  
  
"Watch it, you are talking back to the wrong people, now move!" With that yell they began to back up when Lisa held her hand up to her face and then looked back to sublime, who was trying desperately to get to her feet. "Wait a second.what if, maybe."  
  
"Quit talking dammit, now-"  
  
Suddenly, just like before, Lisa's body caught afire and startling the guards. She acted quickly and tossed her fire at one of them, setting them ablaze! "It worked! All I had to do was just think about it and it happened!"  
  
"Really? It cant be that simple." With that Yvette's own hand's began to emit an electrified glow. ".Can it?" With a smile Yvette knew her answer and quickly blasted on of the guards into the other! "Whoa." Was all that she could let out as she stared at her hands in disbelief. The guards got back up and began to step towards the kids again. "That's it, screw bringing you back alive!"  
  
"Hey, have a seat and relax alright? 'Cause I think I've just figured out my own little power." Benny touched the ground and it began to shake, rocking the entire complex, nearly moving it from its own foundation. The guards fell again as Sublime pulled herself up, looking at the guards then back to the kids. She was surprised to say the least. Quickly she shook off the after affects and moved in on the guards taking them out with swift shots to their necks. "Jesus.are.are they dead?" Lisa asked.  
  
"No." was all Sublime would say before leading them out of the compound. Dominus looked on from his monitor and quickly turned to his young lackey. "You told me to trust. So you've lied to me in essence. Just when the first few had begun to manifest, I've lost them!"  
  
"I know sir.I'm really really sorry. But on the bright side you still have the other children sir."  
  
"Yes, yes I do. You however are another story." Quickly he grabbed him by his neck, lifting him to the air. "Good bye." The boy's body began to grow a light green; Dominus was sucking his powers, his very life from him. With a thud the body fell and Dominus simply turned back to his screens, calling up the familiar picture of Felix Rivera.  
  
Epilogue  
  
Out on the road, Sublime drove the kids in silence. It was a weird experience to say the least, what could you say that could bring this ordeal into perspective. Benny was the first to finally say something. "What happened to us back there.?" Sublime sighed, she knew the question was coming. She was entirely keen on answering it. "You were exposed to the Gen Factor."  
  
"What is that?" Lisa asked.  
  
"A mutagenic factor that changes the DNA of its host, resulting in the host gaining extraordinary powers."  
  
"English please." Yvette said with a confused tone.  
  
"Basically something that messes with your genes to give you super powers."  
  
"Interestingly enough. So why us?" Tim asked.  
  
"It's a good question. Going by I/O's old MO and judging by the fact you are here Tim, all of you must be related to other Gen-Actives. Particularly ones created by I/O."  
  
"You mean you went through all of that?" Sublime simply nodded to the question. "Although mine was more or less by choice. This seems more wrong on the surface, especially considering the source behind it all."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Dominus. He's a Meta with a mad-on in layman's terms. This goes deeper then just creating Gen-Actives for the government. I'm sure of that."  
  
"Can we help you?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Why not? We're apart of this now." Benny said.  
  
"It's not my job to play baby-sitter. I'm just going to get you home."  
  
"But what about these damn powers? You have to at least show us how to use them or help us. I could burn my own house down!" Lisa stated. Sublime sighed and looked back briefly at them. She knew what it was like; they didn't deserve any of this. Someone should at least teach them. "Fine." She said. "At the very least you could help me get this next kid that Dominus wants. But that's the extent of your involvement, understood?" They all nodded and sat back, they knew this was anew beginning for all of them. Sublime included. 


End file.
